Chapter 38

"He is very selective in trusting his people." Cole cleared his throat when he began talking about Benjamin Louise. "I know a lot of things but not everything. Only that which he deems relevant for me."

"He has given me a task of spying on people who maybe a threat to his mission. But he knows how to play it safe." Cole chuckled.

"He is carrying it out like a puzzle. Every person engaged to his cause is not fully aware about what he does. So it's difficult to crack it down."

"But do you know the other people related to him? Amelia asked desperately.

"He doesn't let one team interact with another. There is potential risk of exposure as he quotes." He smirked while shrugging his shoulder.

"What is that supposed to mean?" David asked frustratingly. "I am the only person who knows his true colours. The others just think of him as Godfather" he cleared his throat. "My opinion doesn't matter for him because he knows nobody is going to believe me."

"So he has not left a single mark that can track him down." Amelia asked with disbelief.

"I am afraid not. The kind of person that he is. There is no question." He squeezed his lips.

"Initially I thought he had seen me with you. But now I can safely say he did not." He divulged with confidence.

"Sure! Why would he?" Amelia chuckled.

"His people are everywhere."

"You can say he has eyes in every corner of America."

"Wherever you walk, sit, eat and hangout his eyes can follow you anywhere."

"And that's the truth we cannot deny."

Cole's melancholic eyes suddenly drooped exhaustedly.

"So we shouldn't let him doubt you. We won't meet personally again. But we can be in contact to find out the truth together." David tried to light him up.

"Really? You think you can do that?" Cole asked incredulously.

"Why? Why can't we?" He iterated.

"Even if you are talking on a phone you are being heard and tapped."

"He has sources that checks on the people who work for him and intercepts their calls."

"Every word that I utter over a phone, he knows it."

"In other words, he guards the guards."

"There is no where you can hide."

Amelia and David looked at each other almost uncertain what to say.

"I am lucky enough to know that he has been tapping my calls."

"That's precisely the reason why he thinks I am trustworthy because I made him believe me."

"But he doesn't know that." He smiled looking down at his feet.

"That you made him believe you?" Amelia asked.

"Yes," his eyes shone with hope.

"How did you know that he intercepts your calls? And why doesn't he know that you have found it?"

"Well! One day I got a call call from an unknown number."

"That person tried to convince me to go against Ben and that he too was someone like me who is trying to rescue his family. There were so many reasons to believe him. But I was so frustrated and angry that I unconsciously sided Ben."

"Instead of dishonouring him I painted him like a Godfather."

"The person fell silent as if he had no words."

"I shouted at him to go find someone else to buy his stories."

"I don't know why I did that."

"I had a feeling that he was watching me or listening to me."

"I inadvertently assumed that it was a time to make up for the precious things I had lost and unknowingly I was right."

"Few minutes after that call hang up. I got another call from Ben and he said he wanted to see me in the evening."

"I tried to remain calm as I agreed to see him."

"But later in the day I went there early from the time he told me to visit him."

"To my shock I heard something that I least expected."

"Before knocking on the door of his office I overheard him talking over a phone with someone that I presumed was that same person talking to me from an unknown number."

Amelia and David looked at him startled.

"he was saying, 'Yes, you did a great job.' And laughed raucously. As if mocking my helplessness and stupidity at the same time."

"He kept saying, 'I heard your conversation with Cole. I was all ears.' If he didn't take my name I wouldn't believe he was talking about me."

"That was an instant when I felt stupid as well as lucky and it sent shivers through my body." He smirked.

"So!" He looked at them and continued after clearing his throat,

"The thing is that I have earned that trust after a lot of troubles and I wouldn't lose it in the nick of time. For something as uncertain as yours." He stared at them with piercing eyes.

"I hope you understand it." He finished with consequential words.

Amelia and David were unsure how to respond. They knew he was helpless in his own capacity. And that whatever he was doing was demanded for the people whose lives were at risk.

"We know your position and everything you do is for the sake of people you love. And you have all the rights in the world to do however you feel it right." Amelia tried to make him feel gracious and dignified despite all the illegal tasks he had been doing for Ben.

She didn't know if her words made sense to him but his eyes sparkled with relief.

He remembered Ben's words, "Kill Henry and bring the girl to me." He smiled with himself. It was the first time he smiled at the naivety of Ben and his blinding arrogance.

Cole wasn't sure if his efforts would be successful, but he had made his decision. If it demanded his own life he would not deny it, and would do anything to expose the greatest tyranny in the realms of science.